


New Found Inspiration

by Generalpandathefourth



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: Artist Gail, College, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:52:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Generalpandathefourth/pseuds/Generalpandathefourth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My Prompt Anon: Gail goes to art school and one morning/afternoon while she sketches at the park she sees a girl who sits on the opposite bench and she starts sketches her, but she is afraid to go talk to her. A week later Holly finds under her dorm door an envelope with her sketches and a note "Thank u for giving me back my inspiration G.P."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It'd been weeks since Gail was able to sketch, all ability lost after her last project and it was driving her insane. She was bored and all she wanted was to draw, but her inspiration was lacking. She'd tried music and looking at art gallery's online, she'd tried asking for ideas and forcing herself to draw, nothing was working and Gail was getting desperate. So in one last attempt she walked down to the park, maybe mindlessly drawing a landscape or strangers would crack the dry spell.

Gail scoped out a good bench and settled in with her sketch book and pulled her pencil out from atop her ear, ready to start. She looked out at the playground, there weren't too many kids and all were moving too quickly for her to draw so she gazed out at the skyline. Gail sighed and began recreating the buildings and clouds and lights in the distance.

She enjoyed the background noise, it was one of the reasons she preferred drawing out in public. But on the other hand people could be mosey and think since she's out and in the open it's totally cool to go and look at what she was doing over her shoulder. Apparently all privacy goes out the window because it's sketching/painting and not something quiet and personal?

An hour later Gail was starting to lose all hope. She was almost finished her sketch and she still wasn't feeling it. Frustrated, Gail began packing up. But before she could close her book she caught sight of a wondrous smile. Her tummy flipped at the pure joy on the woman's face, the twinkle in the brunette's eye seen all the way across the park. Gail slid the pencil out from atop her ear and flipped to the next page in her sketch book. 

She drew with a new found inspiration, an inspiration she'd never experienced before. This didn't take any thought, this didn't feel like work, this felt like a need. A need to capture the beauty of a mindless task, a need for remembrance, a need to have something of such...exquisiteness. The woman was doing nothing but reading on a park bench, Gail was captivated. The brunette would smile without a care of who would see, she had a heart stealing crooked grin, her brow furrowed when she got really into it, she'd chew on her bottom lip, she'd run her hand through her hair to get it out of her face, her dark rimmed glasses would be pushed up every few minutes. Everything she did was done with a grace, a deliberate, decisive move with a beauty Gail didn't know existed.

Before Gail knew it she'd sketched three pages full of the brunette. She felt a little embarrassed, it was weird right? Drawing a complete stranger about a dozen times without them knowing. _Yeah that's super weird,_ Gail thought to herself. _But you know what's weirder? Keeping said pictures of stranger._ Gail ripped the pages out of her book, closed said pad and tucked her pencil on it's usual perch on her ear. When she went to stand she found herself frozen. This was something that she didn't like nor had it ever happened before. Scared of a pretty girl? You could ask anyone, Gail Peck was no flustered chicken when it came to women. She was one people aspired to be when around pretty girls. Not this. Not someone frozen in their seat, staring helplessly.

After a much longer time than Gail would care to admit, she got up and went back to campus, sketches in hand.

 ~

Weeks went by and Gail was happy. Her teacher had picked up on the way her hand and art had improved, it had a new ease and grace to it, the colours more profound. She'd asked Gail what had caused the sudden change in performance, the blonde had just shrugged and said that she'd found a new source of critique. Which wasn't a lie, the nerd -what she'd named the brunette from the park- had set a higher bar, a new life to how things should be. She'd showed Gail the finer side of beauty and grace. Which was how she was able to spot the brunette from across campus one day. Her heart had stopped, her stomach flip flopped and she was frozen yet again. Gail was glad she had time to recoup before her 'friend' caught up with her, she could use her friend's leg behind as an excuse to the sudden halt. 

The next time she stopped in her tracks was when she was going to her friend's dorm and nerd was unlocking one of the doors just down the hall. The brunette even looked up and met her gaze, then gave that lopsided smile after a moment of studying the blonde's features. Gail held her breath the entire time. She didn't dare move in hopes nerd hadn't seen her or she could suddenly grow invisible, or maybe the earth would be nice for once in it's life and swallow her whole. Unfortunately none of those things happened and nerd went into what Gail assumed was her dorm room. 

This was starting to become a problem. She'd started dreaming of the brunette, closing her eyes at random times and smiling at the bright warm grin she'd gotten in the smelly dorm halls, wondering what nerd was up to, all of the things only lovesick teens babbled about. It was horrific. And slowly killing her. So she decided that getting rid of her sketches -that totally were not hidden under her pillow the past four nights- was what had brought this disgusting curse upon her and if they were gone so would the thoughts of the brunette. 

Gail folded the three pages as neatly as she could and placed them in an envelope with a note. She swallowed down everything any sighting of the brown eyed beauty did to her and pushed on to the door marked 17 in a lousy paint job. Before she could talk herself out of it Gail slid the envelope under the door and practically ran to her friends dorm, praying to any god listening that no one would see her.

 ~

Holly was on her way out the door to go to the park and read. It was something she only got to do every few weeks. She promised her mom to go outside and relax at least a couple times a month and that's how she did it. When something caught her eye. A crisp white envelope sitting just inside her doorway. Holly wasn't expecting anything, and it wasn't addressed or anything, it wasn't even properly sealed -the lip just tucked nicely in. It peaked her interest greatly so she sat on the couch and carefully opened it.

The contents consisted of four pieces of paper, three much larger than the other. Holly unfolded them with a new found excitement and curiosity. The three larger pages were ripped from a book, a sketch pad she assumed for the pencil drawings on them. Pencil drawings of her. Holly was blown away at the careful, smooth lines, the accuracy of each took her breath away. Whoever had done these was talented. They'd captured Holly in a way that put butterflies in her tummy, they were beautiful and she couldn't stop staring at them.

When she shuffled them for the umpteenth time Holly caught sight of the fourth piece of paper from the wonderful envelope. She quickly picked it up off the floor and unfolded it. 

_Thank you for giving me back my inspiration. G.P._ it wrote. Holly blushed at the thought of being someones inspiration, being the thing that elicited the spark of inspiration by doing nothing. 

 

**_A/N: I hoped you liked it!! Thanks for reading_ **


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all conned me into making another part where they meet, so here it is

"Obviously they are an art major, or at least taking an art class, so we can ask around the art students for a G.P." Dov suggested as he scanned the sketches.

Holly sighed, slipping further into the couch. "You don't know that. They could just enjoy sketching and are studying something totally different."

It'd been a week since she received the sketches and they hadn't left her mind for more than a minute. She wondered who G.P. was, why they'd chosen to draw her out of everyone and everything there, she would trace the gentle lines and get butterflies at the beauty of them. So Holly did all she could and told two of her closest friends.

"True but this looks like pages from one of those expensive books, ones you get in an art class." Chris chinned towards the pages in his roommates hands. Holly gave him a look, demanding for reasoning.

"I might have posed nude once or twice for some really cute art majors." He cheekily said before taking a huge bite of cereal.

Holly rolled her eyes, she should have known. "So you're telling me G.P. is in fact an art student?"

Chris shrugged. "If I was a betting man, I'd put some money on it."

She thought about that, drowning out the sloppy crunches Chris made while chewing. It sounded too easy, too much like a child's fairy tale, and if it was reversed and one of her friends was talking like this she'd slap them in the face with reality. Like McNally when she goes off on her fairy tale love quests, Holly is usually the one to bring ration and logic when Andy starts to float too high. On the other hand Holly couldn't help the excitement that was building, the thrill of the possibility of meeting the person who saw her in a way no other had before. So she decided to let herself have this one, how could asking around be so bad? If she found the person and they turned out horrible then that would be that, if she found the person and they were awesome then she'd get a new friend, and if she didn't find them then it'd be forever a mystery -Holly wasn't so big on what ifs.

"What harm could asking around a bit do?"

"Well you would be running the risk of sounding like a stalker" Dov teased, earning him a pillow thrown at his head.

 ~

"Uh, yeah there's a G.P. in my art class."

Holly's smile grew from ear to ear, it'd taken a few days and a few weird looks but she got it, she finally found her secret artist. The three amigos -as the boys had been insistently calling them since they met at orientation- had started with the people Chris had posed for. The first two didn't know any G.P.s but had some words with the puppy of a man, the third slammed a door in their faces, the fifth being their last chance before quitting wasn't any help either. But his friend -who was sitting with him in the field- came to the rescue.

"Thank god." Dov sighed as he sat with the two and leaned against a tree.

"How are you ever going to make it as a cop if you act like this after a few days of investigation?" Holly raised a brow.

"I'm not planning on being a detective" he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Back on topic," Chris reprimanded his friends then turned to the girl. "What does G.P. Stand for? And do you have any idea how we could meet them?"

"Gabriel Peterson, I could introduce you to him or you could come to our class showing just outside the art building this thursday." The girl replied cheerily. She didn't really look like an artist type, she seemed too bubbly and pink. But then again the whole edgy/hipster type was just stereotype.

 ~

Holly was nervous. She couldn't pinpoint why, she was only about to be introduced to the guy she'd been thinking about for almost two weeks nonstop, the guy she'd been imagining about during class. The guy who had brought a new sense of confidence to her everyday life. Why be nervous about that?

Chloe -the girl who had saved the search and offered to introduce them- told Holly to meet her and Gabriel at the same tree the following day. Holly was busy but had a few minutes between classes, she'd have even more if she wasn't slowed down with nerves. It didn't take long to spot Chloe across the stretch of grass, sitting with a tall man with blond hair pulled back into a short ponytail.

"Hey Holly, this is-" Chloe began as she approached.

"Gabriel Peterson." The blond man interrupted, rushing to his feet, hand extended toward the med student.

Holly took the proffered hand, a little off put by his rudeness. "Holly Stewart."

"I heard you were looking for me, admired my work." Gabriel smirked.

"Uh yeah. Yeah. I um, I really appreciate the ones you gave me."

He paused, his smile faded and his eyes clouded with thought for a split second before it all snapped back into place.

"The ones I gave you, right." He scratched the back of his head with one hand and pointed at her with the other. "Those were some of my favourites."

"They're beautiful, I've never seen anything quite like them." She looked to the ground.

"Thank you." Gabriel puffed out his chest, smirk steadily in place. Holly caught Chloe rolling her eyes and shaking her head lightly, she smiled at the gestures.

"I'm sorry to head out so soon but I've got to get to class now." Holly said apologetically, backing away slowly.

Gabriel took a step in her direction. "We're having a showing on Thursday, you should stop by and maybe we could go out afterwards."

She thought it over quickly. He wasn't quite as she'd pictured, hoped for, to be honest he was a bit too cocky for her liking. But he was the person who had given her something that couldn't be taken away, maybe this was just how he was about his work and was actually a pretty cool person once you got to know him. Like Lisa.

"I'll think about it. Bye Chloe." Holly waved and set off for class.

 ~

Holly had only been to this side of campus once or twice, always with a knowing friend, so she had never had to navigate and now regretted not paying more attention. She'd been wondering for a half hour, trying to find the main art building and ultimately failing. Then she spotted a short haired, blonde woman carrying a covered canvass speed walking across a patch of grass.

"Excuse me" Holly called out, picking up on her own speed to catch up.

The woman spun around, looking ready to rip her throat out before catching her gaze and somehow grew paler. The blondes face was one of stunned beauty, like she'd been caught stealing by a strict parent.

"Are you going to an art opening?" Holly asked hopefully.

The woman nodded slowly, eyes wide.

Holly let a relieved breath out. "Could you possibly show me where it is? I've been looking for it for a half hour now and I don't have that much time, I've got this huge paper due and studying and-"

"Slow your roll nerd." The woman smiled amusedly at her. A smile that that had Holly in a slow moment of awe.

"Sorry. I tend to ramble." Holly looked to her feet so her hair could hide the embarrassed blush.

"Common, it's this way." She jutted her chin towards the direction she'd been headed in, her eyes glimmering in amusement.

They fell in step together, as far apart  the walkway would allow. It was quite awkward, there was a weird tensity that Holly couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I'm Holly by the way." She broke the silence.

"Gail." The blonde replied.

"Is that your piece for the showing?"

"Yup."

Holly nodded, accepting that there wouldn't be much talking on their walk to the opening. She thanked Gail when they arrived, leaving her to set up her piece and went to find Gabriel. Which didn't turn out to be that hard because the blond was boasting loudly about his piece, puffing out his chest to everybody who passed.

"Molly, you made it!" Gabriel clasped his hands before opening his arms and pulling her into a very unwanted and sweaty hug.

"My name's Holly." She replied curtly.

"My bad." He moved past her, back to the charcoal drawing of a coffee shop.

Holly made a quick recovery and followed the art student. "This is nice." She gestured to the sketch.

"It's the best shop in the city, I could take you there afterwards if you want and then maybe show you the best bed in the city."

She closed her eyes, unbelieving how pompous he was. She'd waited and wondered and hoped about this ass hat? Holly couldn't understand how this guy could be the person who drew her at the park and left such a sweet note.

"No thanks." She turned on her heel and started her way home, she'd wasted enough of her time on Gabriel. But someone caught her eye on her way out. A platinum blonde named Gail, a sweet enough person to show her to the show. Maybe I'll just sneak a look at her piece, thank her again and then head home, Holly reasoned. No one else was around, most in the other wing of the exhibit admiring something.

"Hey Gail." She greeted the blonde.

Gail spun around, reacting in much the same way she had before, except instead of growing pale she grew a light shade of pink.

"Oh, Holly. Hi."

"How's it going so far?"

Gail shrugged. "Only gotten a few views, most seem to be gravitating toward the sculptures. But that's cool, I don't really like these things." She circled her finger to indicate the showing.

Holly nodded sympathetically. "Why don't you like them?"

She looked at her fidgeting feet and kicked the ground. "I don't like seeing people judge my work."

"That's very understandable. I don't think I could do this sort of thing, I'd be bursting with nerves and probably have so many brake downs. It'd be a mess." Holly babbled. When Gail met her gaze she noticed the slight twitch of a smile on the deep red lips, the full plump and delicious looking lips. What are you doing Stewart?

"Oh, I am." Gail reassured her and rubbed her hands together.

"Mind if I take a look at your piece?" Holly asked, gesturing to the canvass she had yet to see. The blonde turned out to be quite distracting and had taken all of her attention away from her plan.

"That's what it's up there for."

"I know, but how comfortable are you with me judging it?" Holly raised a questioning brow.

There was a beat where they were just looking into one another's eyes. Holly's heart sped up with the intensity of the baby blues staring back at her, filled with emotion, emotion she wanted to know and understand immediately.

"Completely." Gail said just over a whisper.

Holly lost her breath, the honesty and trust overwhelmed her. Gail was overwhelming. So, she averted her eyes and instead got herself lost in the art piece. It was filled with colour, each line hard and deliberate -almost like anger but the colours didn't portray such emotion-, her eyes danced around the canvass trying to examine it all at once but found it difficult to stay in one big picture. There wasn't much of a pattern to the background, random lines and splotches filled in with beautiful colours of all shades. Then there was the middle, the focus point. A faceless woman, nothing but hair, glasses and jaw line. Done in an entirely different hand than the background, it was light and smooth, grace and beauty and elegance in each stroke. Holly was stunned.

"You're freaking me out nerd." Gail nervously said from Holly's right side.

She hummed in response, still captivated but the painting.

"You're being too quiet and it's almost been two minutes, I'm about to take it down."

Holly quickly turned to her, almost hitting Gail in the face in the process, her eyes wide "no don't!"

"I mean, don't be worried." Holly lowered her voice, embarrassed about her outburst. "I'm quiet because it's beautiful, it's taken my breath away and I kind of got lost in it."

She watched as Gail lowered her head and began to ring her hands.

"I promise you I'm not just saying that because this is yours and you're right here." Holly bent down a bit to try and catch the blue eyes with her own, smiling a lopsided grin when she found them. "I'd tell you if it was bad."

"Okay." Gail tried for snark and ended up with cute-shy-brush-off.

Holly turned back to the painting and admired it again. This time she looked closer and something felt familiar, the feeling in the woman reminded her of something but she couldn't place it. Like when something reminds you of a movie but you can't think of the title and can't for the life of you remember anything about it. The answer was there, way in the back of her mind but wasn't loud enough to inform her.

"Hey Peck!" A booming voice called from far behind them.

"What do you want Donald?" Gail practically growled to the man who quickly made ground toward them.

"What, you not happy to see me?" He smirked.

Gail snorted her disgust.

"Ouch." Donald faked hurt and held a hand over his chest. "And here I was, paying a visit in place of your dear brother to dutifully take a picture to show him."

"I really couldn't care less about why you're here."

"But you asked." Donald pointed out smugly.

Gail rolled her eyes. "No I didn't asswipe, I asked what you wanted."

"You know what I want." He winked.

Holly couldn't help laughing at Gail's fake vomiting, she was quite the actress and really committed.

"Alright you can stop with the puking, it's getting gross and you're scarring the people."

"I always scare the people, it's my life's work." Gail winked to Holly, who in turn tried to hide a smile by biting her lip.

Donald followed her gaze, finally realizing someone else was there and immediately zoned in on a new target. Gail saw the change in his demeanour and clenched her teeth.

"And who's this pretty little lady?" He raked his eyes over every inch of the med student.

"Someone who you should stop staring at like a piece of meat." Gail hissed, taking a step forward.

Donald backed up, holding his hands up in surrender. "Whoa there Baby Peck. If you have dibs that's all you gotta say to a brother, no need for-"

"Shut your face before I break it." She warned through bright cheeks.

Gail was proving to be a completely different person than Holly had originally thought. Gail first came off as an awkward, sweet, quiet girl, but the second Donald came around she was a snarky, no-shit taking girl who hated people. It was like there were two. Gail who guided her to the showing, too shy to say a word, and then there was Peck, the complete opposite -except for the redden ears. Peck.. Gail. Gail Peck, art student.

Gail Peck, art student, sweet and too shy for face to face showings of her art.

Wait.

"You're G.P. aren't you?" Holly asked Gail completely stunned by the turn in events.

 

_**A/N: I hoped you liked it, thanks for reading** _


	3. Chapter 3

Donald backed up with his hands up in surrender, stupid smirk firmly in place. "Whoa there Baby Peck. If you have dibs that's all you gotta say to a brother, no need for-"

"Shut your face before I break it." She warned through bright cheeks. The rookie was boiling her blood and Gail was about to fully lose her cool. Donald had been a thorn in her eye from the day she met him, he was a friend to her brother in the academy, his partner on the job and his wingman at the bar. So Donald and her had been around each other enough that he knew how to set a fire under her, knew how to tick her off in a matter of seconds, and he was doing a fabulous job, right there in front of Holly.

The girl she'd been crushing on -from afar- for weeks. The girl who had changed her work forever, made it better and deeper, and she didn't even know about it until her teacher pointed it out. The girl who-

"You're G.P. aren't you?" Holly gasped.

Gail was stunned, unable to move, _fuck_. She didn't know what to do. She was caught between her need to be anonymous, her totally awkward and embarrassed need to stay hidden, and her unwillingness not to lie to Holly.

"What's she gaping about Baby Peck?" Donald leaned in and side whispered not so quietly.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen and follow through, or so help you. Leave without another sound, Donald." Venom dripped from every syllable and she turned to him slowly, showing him just how serious she was. "Now!"

Gail glared at the rookie until he was halfway across the grass then Holly caught her sight and brought her back to the situation. The situation she put herself in and wasn't quite sure if she regretted. If Gail had ignored Holly when she called out and showed her where the showing was they wouldn't be here. But the brunette pulled Gail in, captivated her, Holly had some sort of hold on her and she couldn't say no.

She watched the brunette for a moment, trying to gauge where she was at with all of this. It was hard to tell, Holly seemed to be going through a wide range of emotions and Gail couldn't differentiate them all.

"I'm sorry." Gail ended up saying.

"For what?" Holly questioned.

She scratched at the back of her head. "For being a complete creep."

Holly broke out into a soft, playful smile. "While I do admit it sounds creepy, and probably is, I actually came here to thank G.P."

Gail raised a brow.

"I've been looking for the person that gave me the sketches for over a week now, and I was told there was only one G.P. in art, Gabriel Peterson. I was just leaving, because he's a total ass, when I saw you" her smile hit her eyes then and it sent a rush through Gail. "And I thought I could even out his pompous-ness with how sweet you are. But then that guy kept calling you Peck and your name is Gail and you fit my image of G.P. more than Gabriel ever could and-"

"Why are you saying all of these words?" Gail interrupted.

"Sorry, I was just explaining. I thought you wanted an explanation. But clearly I don't know when to take a hint or to shut up, and I'm still talking way too much, sorry." Holly was getting flustered. Her cheeks started to flush and her palms were noticeably sweaty by the way she kept wiping them on her pants.

"Just like I thought." Gail mused, catching the brunette off guard.

"What?"

"I pegged you as a rambler and here you are, all word vomit-y."

There was a tap on her shoulder, ripping her away from watching Holly's reaction, instead to glare daggers at whoever had the audacity to touch her. But, yet again, she was stopped short as the intruder was her art teacher.

"Ruby, hey. Hi." Gail awkwardly greeted her teacher.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to say that this piece is beautiful, Gail. You've captured a lot, the fighting emotions are particularly stunning." She gestured to the painting as she spoke, pointing out each part as she explained.

Gail wasn't sure how to respond, and she knew Ruby expected a little more than just a thank you.

Then Ruby turned to face the blonde, waiting for a response from one of her favourite students, and instead locked eyes with a nervous brunette, a smile immediately fell on her lips.

"Hi, I'm Ruby, Gail's art professor. And you must be the subject." Ruby greeted Holly with a proffered hand.

Gail's heart sank. She wasn't planning on telling Holly so much, on telling the brunette that she's been in all of her art since that day at the park, that her work is forever changed.

Gail glanced at Holly to gauge how bad it was, and wasn't calmed in the least. Her eyes were wide and Gail could practically see the gears working over time in Holly's head.

Holly took Ruby's hand and gave it a weak shake. "Holly."

"I've seen a lot of you Holly, it's nice to finally put a face to the new life to Gail's work." Ruby smiled brightly, completely unaware of what she's doing to the women in front of her.

Holly weakly returned the smile and took a few steps back. "I have to get going, I don't want to be late for class. It was nice to meet you"

And just like that the brunette spun on her heel and walked out of sight. Gail watched longingly.

"Did she leave because of me?"

Gail looked at her teacher with disdain. If she could get away with hitting a teacher, there would have been no better reason then in that moment. "Yes."

~

"Guys, I found G.P." Holly burst through the door of her friends dorm, forgoing knocking and uncaring of who might be there. Luckily the two she'd been intending the news for were there.

"Fucking jesus!" Dov jumped, tossing the controller into the air and grabbed his chest. "Holly, what the hell?"

"I found G.P." She repeated while closing the door.

"We knew, we kinda helped find him." Dov grumbled and picked up the fallen controller. Holly went straight to the coffee table Chris propped his feet on and grabbed the nearest beer, she chugged down a good portion and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Gabrielle wasn't G.P. he was a self absorbed douche canoe. But she was at the showing, Gail Peck, she was the one who gave me the pictures."

"Wait, wait, wait." Chris put a hand up to stop his friend. He looked at her with disbelief. "Gail Peck is your secret admirer?"

Holly shot him a glare. "Gail Peck is the one who wrote the letter, yes."

"So her name would be Abigail Peck, right?" Chris clarified.

"I guess?"

"Ice Queen, Abigail Peck?" Dov copied the other man.

"What?"

"You know the Ice Queen we're always talking about? The one who steals our coffee and can kill anyone with one glare." He explained. Holly nodded. Of course she knew the Ice Queen, there was a new story every week about her, her friends never stopped complaining about the icy royal cop. "Ice Queen also goes by Abigail Peck."

Her face scrunched up in confusion. There was no way the adorable, blushing, girl she met was the feared and hated Ice Queen. It wasn't possible. Gail was far too sweet for such a reputation. Holly shook her head vehemently, "there's no way. Maybe there's a Gail and an Abigail, it's a big school."

Dov shook his head, silently saying _no way_. "Platinum blonde, icy blue eyes, skin that looks like it hasn't seen the sun in centuries?"

Holly sat on the couch between the boys in defeat. Gail _had_ snapped pretty quickly at that Donald guy, he was easily twice her size and he'd shrunk back in fear.

"Sorry Hol." Chris wrapped an arm over her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Hey, why don't we hit the bar later? Maybe find a nice group of ladies." He waggled his brows.

Holly chuckled at the ridiculous expression but shook her head. "Maybe another night. I don't feel up to dragging your ass home." She teased half heartedly.

Holly was torn. On the one hand Gail was nothing of what she thought, not if she was the Ice Queen, not if everything she's been told about the woman was true. She couldn't date, let alone be friends with with someone like the Ice Queen. No matter how attractive.

But on the other hand she really liked _Gail_ , the one who nervously watched her look at her art and the one who didn't take shit from Donald. And it was a little over whelming but apparently Gail had drawn her more times than what she'd been given. Enough times that Gail's art prof recognized her. To be someone's inspiration, to be in someone's art, it was flattering to say the least.

A wave of guilt washed over her then. She'd run out. She ran and left Gail with a horrible impression. Holly downed the rest of the beer she'd taken before with few complaints from whoever it belonged to. She had to find Gail, again. Maybe Chloe would know her, the peppy redhead seemed to know everyone.

~

"How did your casing go, Abby?" Chloe asked once she walked through their apartment door.

"How many times do I have to tell you that's not my name." Gail shot an annoyed glare at her peppy roommate from over the back of the couch.

The glare slid right off the redhead as she moved about the kitchen. "Sorry, habit. How did it go, Gail."

"Like all of the others."

"Good reviews? Thumbs up from Ruby? What am I saying, of course Ruby loved it. Did a lot of people stop by?" Chloe shot off in quick recession.

Gail groaned and covered her face with one of the many pillows Chloe laid about the living room. She didn't want to think about her showcasing let alone talk about it with her princess of a roommate. It'd been a complete failure. A colossal embarrassment. The only good thing that came of it was getting a name for nerd and having Holly smile at her.

"I can't quite tell what that stands for. I can usually tell, you communicate with groans a lot, but I can't place that one. Is it good or bad or leave me alone?"

"It means I hate my life and you need to stick a cork in it." Gail yelled into the pillow.

"Okie dokie."

Gail stayed on the couch hidden under the mass of pillows and loathed her life. She listened to Chloe clang around their kitchen, no doubt making them dinner, and humming what could only be a Disney tune. Usually she'd tell the girl to cut it out but she couldn't find it in herself to put the effort into making any sort of noise. So she listened and loathed and waited for death.

It didn't come. Not in the time it took for Chloe to cook and serve them each a plate.

"I know you don't want to talk about it now, but I'm always up for listening whenever you are ready to talk. About this or anything. You're prickly but you are my friend, Gail." Chloe said, never taking her eyes off the tv.

Gail let herself a hint of a smile. Chloe finally got her name right. The princess drove her nuts, and she couldn't stand her most of the time, but in a weird way she was one of her only friends and she appreciated the gesture. She wasn't going to say any of that of course, it'd be far too much invitation to Chloe and Gail would not have that. But maybe, just maybe, she'd take her roommate up on her offer.


End file.
